Nominees:
Atlantic City
Chariots of Fire
On Golden Pond
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Reds
Winner:
Chariots of Fire
Atlantic City
Chariots of Fire
On Golden Pond
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Reds
Winner:
Chariots of Fire
Story: The story, told in flashback, of two young British sprinters competing for fame in the 1924 Olympics. Eric (Ian Charleson), a devout Scottish missionary runs because he knows it must please God. Harold (Ben Cross), the son of a newly rich Jew runs to prove his place in Cambridge society. In a warm-up 100 meter race, Eric defeats Harold, who hires a pro trainer to prepare him. Eric, whose qualifying heat is scheduled for a Sunday, refuses to run despite pressure from the Olympic committee. Hilarity ensues. A compromise is reached when a nobleman allows Eric to compete in his 400 meter slot. Eric and Harold win their respective races and go on to achieve fame as missionary and businessman/athletic advocate, respectively.Trivia: Eric Liddell's 400 meter victory in the 1924 Olympics was an Olympic record of 47.6 and excited the crowd with an unorthodox run. He ran the first 200 meters in 22.2 seconds, considered by track experts to be tactically foolish, considering it was only 0.3 seconds slower than his 200 personal record but he actually increased his lead in the second half beating the competition by nearly a second.
So, tell me what you think? Did you like Chariots of Fire? Would you have picked another movie as Best Picture? Why?
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2 comments:
For a movie about being the fastest person in a foot race, Chariots of Fire is a slow movie. If you ask anybody about it, I bet they can only remember the title sequence of the guys running on the beach and the music in the background.
I haven't seen Atlantic City with Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon, or Reds with Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton so I can't tell you about them.
I would have thought On Golden Pond would have won. It is the prototypical Oscar movie great actors, an estranged family, both Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn winning Oscars for it. You get the idea.
Which leaves Raiders of the Lost Ark. My Choice. To me movies are about entertainment. Raiders was a very entertaining movie, and has stood the test of time unlike Chariots of Fire. Sometimes I think the Academy shys away from giving a movie like Raiders the Oscar because they think the movie was made for the money, not the art. I remember being upset when it didn't win. I liked Raiders, I still do. It's in my top ten.
I agree with you about Chariots of Fire. Slow and forgettable. As you mentioned, I only remember the running on the beach and the music. So, my pick would have been On Golden Pond. Great movie, excellent acting.
I agree with you about why you think that the Academy doesn't pick movies like Raiders of the Lost Arc. I guess that's why they have the Peoples Choice Awards.
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